


All I Want For Christmas

by LadySokolov



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Batman: The Telltale Series (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, M/M, Matchmaker Alfred, Mistletoe, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 02:50:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13137537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadySokolov/pseuds/LadySokolov
Summary: “If you could have absolutely anything in the world for Christmas, and I mean anything, no matter how ridiculous it might seem at first, then what would it be?”





	All I Want For Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas everyone. This is possibly the most stupidly fluffy thing I have ever written. I hope you like it, and that these two dorks can bring you a little bit of Christmas cheer.

“If you could have absolutely anything in the world for Christmas, and I mean anything, no matter how ridiculous it might seem at first, then what would it be?”

Bruce Wayne delighted in watching the way John Doe’s face lit up at the question.

It had occurred to Bruce just a few days earlier that John had probably never had the chance to celebrate Christmas before, or at least not properly. They probably did  _something_  to celebrate inside Arkham Asylum, but Bruce doubted there would have been much in the way of presents or cheer.

Bruce wanted to make this; the first Christmas that he and John had been together outside of Arkham for; the best day that he possibly could.

It wasn’t as though Bruce usually put any energy into Christmas; Alfred would cook turkey and a small Christmas pudding (one of a few British-isms that he had refused to give up and had consequently passed onto Bruce) and they would exchange simple gifts, but for the first time in a very long time, Bruce had someone apart from Alfred that he wanted to celebrate Christmas with.

Bruce was going to give John anything that he wanted. Anything at all. It wasn’t as though Bruce couldn’t afford it.

John contemplated the question for what felt like a very long time. Bruce could practically see the gears turning in his head.

“Anything?” John eventually asked.

“Anything,” Bruce confirmed.

“Even a mansion?” John asked.

Bruce had not been prepared for John to ask him for something  _that_ extravagant. He began to wonder whether John would consider moving into Wayne Manor with Bruce to be an acceptable solution. Bruce had been contemplating suggesting something similar for a while as it was, but if John insisted on a mansion, then well…

Perhaps Bruce could buy him his own apartment at the very least.

“Don’t worry buddy,” John said, pausing to let out a chuckle. “I’m not going to ask you for a  _mansion_. I mean, I’d feel guilty if you did something that big for me. Ooh, what about a pony?”

That request also caught Bruce unawares.

“Do you actually want a pony?” he asked John.

“No, but that’s the sort of thing people ask for in this situation, right?”

“Er… Some people? I’m not sure how many fully grown men do though. John, seriously, do you want me to buy you a horse? I suppose I could…”

“Don’t be silly Bruce. What would I do with a horse in a city as big as this? There would be nowhere for me to keep it and the traffic would probably scare it. Er… maybe a puppy?”

Bruce was having a hard time convincing himself that giving John any sort of pet at all wouldn’t just end in disaster.

“No, I’ve got nowhere to keep a puppy either,” John conceded, and Bruce let out a sigh of relief. 

“I don’t know Bruce,” John said, suddenly looking rather downcast. “I don’t know what to ask for. What do people usually ask for? What would _you_ ask for?”

“Huh?”

“If you were going to ask for anything at all for Christmas what would it be?”

“From you?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it.”

Bruce wasn’t used to asking anyone for anything on Christmas. Alfred always seemed to know exactly what to get him and no-one else really cared enough to ask. He didn’t really want to ask John for anything either, or at least for nothing material. John wasn’t exactly rolling in money, and there was always the chance that John would decide to steal whatever Christmas present Bruce asked for.

“I think,” Bruce began slowly, “that what I would ask for would be just to spend some time with you, without Harley or the Pact or anyone else interfering. Just the two of us.”

“So, like a date?”

Bruce hadn’t thought of it that way, and felt himself blushing as soon as John said the words. He really would have been happy just to spend some time with John, no strings attached. It was pretty rare that the two of them just got to spend time with each other without something interfering, and Bruce felt a little too greedy and a little too guilty even hoping for anything more from John when just being around John made Bruce feel more at ease and more inclined to smile than he had in years.

“Uh, I guess?”

Bruce waited for the inevitable kind smile and gentle let-down. He had already been through that exact situation with John once, but instead the smile that appeared on John’s face was wide and genuine.

“Aw Bruce,” John said, reaching over to place a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “You don’t have to waste your Christmas wish on that. I would have given you that anyway. Seriously, you ever want me there, I’m there!”

“Really?” Bruce asked.

“Oh sure! Christmas this year is going to be excellent! Just me and my buddy Bruce and er… I don’t know what else. What do normal people even  _do_  on Christmas? I don’t know, but it’s going to be incredible!”

* * *

And John was right.

In the end Bruce gave John his present a few days before Christmas and it doubled as the time that they spent together, although it was far from the only quality time Bruce managed to carve out with his good buddy John over the few days leading up to Christmas. Bruce took John to a couple of his favorite high-end tailors, and had his friend measured for a couple of the most comfortable, luxurious outfits money could buy.

Of course he let John help pick the material and the cut, and John ended up walking out of the second store they visited, slurping the frozen cola he had been carrying around over the past half hour and wearing the most over-the-top purple coat and matching purple gloves that he could have possibly found. The coat would have probably looked ridiculous or a little too flamboyant on anyone else, but on John it looked perfect.

Bruce invited John to Wayne manor for Christmas Day itself. John spent the entire time smiling, and Bruce found himself inclined to smile too whenever he saw how happy John was. It was the first time in a very long time that anyone had joined Bruce and Alfred for Christmas, and John’s presence seemed to light up the whole mansion and make it feel like Christmas in a way that Bruce hadn’t experienced since he had been a child spending Christmas with his family.

Alfred made the same turkey and the same Christmas pudding as he usually did, but it all tasted so much better with someone else to share it with. 

They had barely finished eating when John dragged Bruce over to the Christmas tree and insisted that they all open the rest of their gifts. When John handed Bruce a large, messily wrapped gift Bruce couldn’t help but grimace as he hoped that whatever John had given him wasn’t stolen or too outlandish.

Bruce was pleasantly surprised when he pulled back the garish green paper to find a large photo album. Flipping through it he discovered that it was full of photos of John and Bruce and many of the other people they knew. John had clearly put a lot of effort into placing the photos and decorating the pages himself, and had added notes and drawings to a lot of the pages.

Bruce almost found himself tearing up as he carefully turned each of the pages.

“Thank you John,” Bruce said. “This is… This is beautiful…”

John visibly relaxed at those words, as though Bruce’s approval meant the world to him.

“You really like it?” he asked. 

“I love it.”

“Oh good. I was worried there for a bit. I mean, what do you get the guy who has everything, right? But you said you wanted time with me, so memories of the time that we’ve already spent together seemed like… well, like the closest thing I could actually give you as a gift.”

Bruce smiled, stamping down on the instinct to say that just being able to spend Christmas with John was all that he could ever want. After all, John had clearly put a lot of thought and effort into his gift, and Bruce didn’t want to accidentally trivialize it, no matter how much his heart was glowing or how much he felt like blurting out something ridiculously sappy.

So far Christmas had been absolutely perfect, but the night wore on, and eventually it was time for John to leave and for Bruce to think about donning the cowl and assuming his role of Gotham’s protector.

“Thank you for coming today,” Bruce said as he and John slowly made their way out of the living room, both of them heading towards the front door with a lack of speed that gave away their reluctance to part. “It’s been…”

Bruce wasn’t sure how he should describe their day together. Incredible? Amazing? One of the best days of his life?

“It’s been real nice huh?” John said before Bruce could settle on a word, and somehow the simplicity of John’s statement felt more appropriate than anything Bruce might have chosen to say.

“Yeah,” Bruce said. “Really nice.”

They both came to a stop in the doorway that led to the mansion’s front foyer. Bruce got the distinct impression that John didn’t want to leave any more than Bruce wanted to say goodbye to him.

“Well…” John murmured, rubbing at his sleeve.

He didn’t get any further however before Alfred let out a cry from the other side of the room.

“Oh my goodness Master Bruce!” the butler said, feigning a great deal of shock.

Bruce knew what that tone meant. It meant that someone, undoubtedly Bruce, was about to find themselves dealing with Alfred’s surprisingly crafty and mischievous side.

“Look up,” Alfred prompted.

Bruce looked up and found himself suddenly lost for words.

John looked at Bruce and then also looked up.

“Oh,” John said. “Wait. Is that…?”

“It appears that someone has placed mistletoe around the house,” Alfred said. Bruce couldn’t tear his eyes away from the seemingly innocent green leaves and white berries above his and John’s head, but he could hear the smile in Alfred’s voice.

He knew why Alfred had done it as well. Heavens knew he had listened to Bruce pining for John enough over the past few weeks. Obviously the crafty old butler had decided to do something about it, although Bruce could not for the life of him work out when Alfred had actually put the mistletoe up.

“That means we’re supposed to kiss, right?” John asked, pointing at the sprig of green and white.

“Yes,” Bruce replied, feeling as though half of his brain cells had just fried. “But we don’t have to if you don’t want to. I mean, it’s not really compulsory and I won’t be off…”

He didn’t get any further before John was throwing himself at Bruce and pressing their lips together in a clumsy but incredibly enthusiastic kiss.

At first Bruce was too shocked to do anything at all, but after a moment he remembered to close his eyes, and then he was relaxing into the kiss and reaching up to gently grab John, his hands wrapping around John’s upper arms, his fingers digging into the soft material of the purple coat that Bruce had bought for him, and which John had refused to take off over the past few days.

The matching gloves felt unexpectedly soft and warm against Bruce’s skin as John reached up to cup either side of Bruce’s face.

John let out a soft moan as Bruce began to kiss back in earnest.

Bruce had no idea how long the kiss lasted, but when they began to pull apart it felt to Bruce as though it had not been nearly long enough, although Bruce had a feeling he would think that even if it had lasted for hours. He would, he realized in that moment, die a very happy man indeed if he could spend the rest of his life kissing John Doe.

Their hands both fell to their sides, and then Bruce was just standing there, staring at the man in front of him, barely able to believe what had just happened.

“You just kissed me,” Bruce said.

“Well yeah,” John replied with a roll of his eyes. “We were standing under mistletoe and you’re… Well, you’re you; super handsome and intelligent Bruce Wayne; the most amazing guy in the whole world. I would have to be completely insane not to kiss you.”

Bruce wished that he had not suddenly lost the ability to speak, but apparently he had. There was so much he wanted to say. He wanted to thank John for the kiss and ask him if it had meant more than just a holiday tradition and ask him whether Bruce might be allowed to steal another kiss and tell him how beautiful he was and all those thoughts were warring and in the end nothing at all came out. He just stood there and stared at John like an idiot.

“Thank you Bruce,” John said, and Bruce had a feeling he would have been blushing had his skin actually been capable of such a thing. “Not just for today, but for everything. It’s been amazing. You… you’re amazing.”

He gave Bruce another kiss, this one a feather-light thing that landed on Bruce’s cheek and made him feel like he could fly, and then John was leaving, smiling shyly at Bruce as he made his way to the manor’s front door.

For another moment Bruce found himself completely unable to do anything. John had just kissed him.  _John Doe_  had just kissed  _him._

He found himself bringing one hand up to his cheek, where he could have sworn he could still feel the warmth from John’s last kiss. That had really happened, hadn’t it?

He glanced around the room, but there was no sign of Alfred; the older man having apparently retreated in order to give Bruce and John some privacy as soon as the actual kiss had started.

It was then that it hit Bruce. John was leaving and no-one was stopping him! Bruce didn’t want him to leave; not yet.

“John wait!” Bruce cried out, chasing after the other man.

John paused, one gloved hand already resting on the handle of the manor’s front door, and looked over his shoulder at Bruce.

“You… you don’t have to leave,” Bruce said. “You can stay if you want. I mean… I want you to stay. You can spend the night. Not… I don’t mean that we would be… you know… Not that I’d be against that if you wanted to, but uh…”

John was staring at Bruce now. Bruce wondered if he was making any sense at all. Damn it. Wasn’t he Bruce Wayne; womanizer extraordinaire? He was supposed to be good at this, wasn’t he? He supposed it was easier when you weren’t already madly in love with the person you were talking to.

“Stay?” Bruce asked. For a few seconds it felt as though his heart stopped beating completely as he waited for John to answer.

“I’d like that,” John said, his hand falling from the door handle. He looked over at Bruce, his mouth stretching into a wide grin. 

Bruce could hardly believe that he’d ever found anything about that grin threatening or uncanny. Sure, it was a little strange, but Bruce wouldn’t trade it for the world, or the pleased, half-suppressed giggle that John let out as he approached Bruce.

“I’d like that a lot,” John said. 

John slipped his hand around Bruce’s own, entwining their fingers as the two of them headed back to the sitting room.


End file.
